I've been thinking about how little surviving information there would be on The Prince and how the only major detail about his life that could even potentially be listed in public history is that he was dating Vannesa
I wonder how many scholars would search fruitlessly for information about this relatively unknown royal who died before he could even graduate
I wonder how many history books on Subcon just list him as "Vannesa's Prince"
So I had this fanfic idea for a while for @erekiosuncreativeideas / @erekiio Reliving An Old Nightmare that takes place at the end of her story, and after some love thanks to discord I ended up writing it! If you haven't read Reliving
An Old Nightmare you should read it, its REALLY REALLY GOOD! Also SPOILERS if you haven't read it or haven't finished it yet. To add on, check out Erekio's stories they are REALLY REALLY GOOD!!!
Thanks to @erekiosuncreativeideas for the art for this story.
“Come back here, kiddo!” Snatcher growled as he chased the giggly hat-wearing child around the forest.
“Never!” Hat Kid laughed as she sprinted faster using her Sprint Hat to get away from the soul stealing ghost, who was also her BFF.
Snatcher growled and went faster to chase after the kid, but she was faster than him for some reason. Hat Kid took a turn and when Snatcher followed her, he froze dead in his tracks.
Ice.
Sharp ice crystals were all over the ground, if one wasn’t too careful they could...they could...Snatcher snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a familiar chuckle. He looked around wondering who was out there. However, he stopped when he saw Hat Kid balancing on the trees near a bunch of those ice crystals.
“Kiddo! Stop!” Snatcher shouted. Hat Kid didn’t listen. She was laughing jumping from branch to branch. “KID!” He growled trying to get closer, but an ice crystal blocked him. He tried to float higher, but more taller and sharper ice crystals blocked him leaving the soul stealing ghost to watch Hat Kid being risky.
Hat Kid laughed as she jumped from one tree branch to the other, but lost her balance and began to fall. She let out a chilling scream as another sharp ice crystal started to form on the ground just below her.
“KIDDO!” Snatcher screamed as he watched the kid get impaled by the ice once again. Her blood splattered nearby ice crystals, and Snatcher froze in place seeing the little girl die once again.
“Gah!” Snatcher shouted waking up. He looked around and saw he wasn’t in a frozen ice crystal wasteland with ice that can cut you like a knife. No, he was home in his little tree home. Snatcher sighed in relief and leaned back in his chair realizing everything that just happened was a nightmare.
Another horrible nightmare.
For the past few days since escaping the rift, the soul-stealing ghost of Subcon started to have nightmares about his obligated contract BFF, Hat Kid dying again. Dying from what killed her in that time rift, ice. The nightmares always start the same; he and the kid would be having fun or the battle he had with her when she was collecting her Time Pieces, but then sharp ice crystals starts to form and Hat Kid gets impaled once again or Snatcher sees her lifeless body stabbed as blood oozed out in front of him.
Once, Snatcher woke up from said dreams the memories of that day replayed in his head, her screams, her cries, feeling her soul, everything about it made him tear up more. He tried not to think about it, but that only made him think about more.
What’s worse his minions were starting to worry about him. None of them went to ask about why Snatcher seemed so uneasy, or looked dead tired but they saw how restless the ghost was being after coming back. Heck, the minions didn’t even ask why he was gone so long and wouldn’t give them full details about what happened.
Snatcher sighed and got out of his chair and decided to take a walk around Subcon, that’ll probably clear his head. It helped him when he was alive. He took a step into Subcon and looked up at the sky. It was clear, stars shining bright and a new moon was out. What made him relieved was Hat Kid’s ship was still in the sky.
Another thing that bugged Snatcher, Hat Kid hadn’t visited him since escaping the rift even though she promised to see him soon. He wondered if her ship was fixed or if she was focusing on collecting Time Pieces to head back home. God, hearing that the kid would have to go back home soon was hard for him to swallow.
Snatcher sighed as he floated a bit higher, but hesitated. He wasn’t sure if he should visit her not long after his recent nightmare about her. “Should I, or should I not.” He said to himself. Snatcher started to think, if he sees her he’ll know she’s alright, but if he doesn’t then that’s more time wasted before she had to go back home.
“Seeing her it is then.” Snatcher said then teleporting to her ship.
When Snatcher entered the kid’s ship he expected to be blasted by her INTRUDER ALERT alarm, but nope it was dark and silent. Like it was when they were in that rift. The ghost didn’t have to look far to find Hat Kid. She was right there in front of him, asleep, using a book as a pillow. From the looks of it she was fixing her ship and fell asleep.
This would be the part he’d yell into her ear and watch her wake up in surprise as he laughed seeing the surprised look on her face. Then Hat Kid would yell trying to hit him or throw a pillow at his face till she calmed down. Snatcher chuckled at those fun times, but now something was forcing him not to wake up the sleeping child.
He floated closer to her, and saw how peaceful she was when she slept. Snatcher also saw that the kid had bags under her eyes. “Guess you haven’t got much sleep too, huh?” He whispered so he wouldn’t wake her up.
Snatcher gave a light chuckle and picked up the sleeping child with his tail. To make sure he floated towards the door where her room was and surprised it was open. “Huh, so she did fix it?” He thought to himself as he took Hat Kid to her room.
Her room was...a bit messy to say the least. Her toys were everywhere, and there were drawings all over the ground. Snatcher sighed, but the kid’s mess was the least of his worries now. He took her to bed, lifted the sheets with one hand and put the child down, carefully with his tail then put the blanket on top of her. Snatcher removed the kid’s hat and put it on the side, To top it off Snatcher grabbed a Caw Agent plush from the ground and put it next to the kid.
Snatcher sighed and relaxed in Hat Kid’s pillow pile sighing in relief. He could have left now, but it felt nice being back in the kid’s room once again. His eyes were gazed on the sleeping child as she moved in her sleep hugging the plush as she did. He gave a light chuckle. “Glad you're getting sleep.” He whispered.
However, the soul stealing ghost went back to sad seeing a little drawing on the floor. He went to pick it up, and tears were in his eyes. It was him and Hat Kid holding hands smiling together with the words “My BFF” on top of the ghost. Snatcher looked at more of the drawings and saw how the kid still saw him as a good person, even a hero in one drawing.
If Snatcher still has his human heart, it would’ve shattered right then and there seeing the hero drawing.
When and how did Hat Kid see him as a hero?
From his time with the kid all he did was try to take her soul and kill...her.
The tears started to show again.
During the time in the rift, he wasn’t a hero at all. He failed to save her when Moonjumper, disguised as the manor’s butler, grabbed the kid and knocked him unconscious. He failed to stop Moonjumper from using his strings and killing the child. Right. In. Front. Of. Him.
Snatcher finally let out a sob.
“I’m sorry kiddo. I’m so sorry.” He whispered letting out a sob. He couldn’t wake her up with his crying. Heck, he didn’t want her to see him cry at all. Snatcher kept apologizing, letting out everything that he’d been holding back the past few days. Even though it wasn’t his fault the kid died, he should’ve done more.
He should have built enough strength and punched the butler Moonjumper in the face and saved the kid.
He should have stopped Hat Kid from using her brewing hat to fight Moonjumper, or even grab her before she was stabbed.
He should have killed Moonjumper before that monster laid a string on the kid!
Moonjumper.
That name left a sour taste in his mouth. Even though the kid’s soul stopped Snatcher from killing Moonjumper, and that Moonjumper killing her was an accident, that didn’t stop him from doing more harm or even killing his own corpse. He wouldn’t tell the kid though, that’s something he’ll keep from her the rest of time.
“S-snatcher?” Hat Kid said, tiredly. Snatcher turned towards the kid and saw she had woken up, probably because of his crying. Quickly, the ghost wiped away the tears from his eyes and tried to look calm. Hat Kid got out of bed and slowly walked towards the ghost, stopping at the end of her pillow pile.
“K-kid, go back to sleep. I’m fine.” Snatcher lied.
“Are you, crying?” Hat Kid asked.
“I-I’m fine. J-just go to sleep.” Snatcher told the young girl. The more the kid was going to ask him, the more he was going to break down and sob right in front of her. That was the last thing he wanted to happen.
The kid however, stood there looking worried at her BFF. “Y-your lying.” She said.
“Kid, I’m fine.” Snatcher replied, giving a low growl. He didn’t want to snap at her, even though he wanted to push her away. “J-just go to sleep and we’ll talk in the morning.” He said, sounding a bit louder. The ghost froze as he felt the kid hug him tight, he looked down and saw her hugging him as much as her arms could go around him.
He couldn’t hold it in anymore. Even if he desperately wanted too, he just couldn’t.
Snatcher let out a sob and hugged the kid close. “I’m sorry I couldn’t do more to save you. I-It pains me so much.” He cried. “I have to see you die over and over again in my dreams! N-none of this should’ve happened!” He sobbed, bawling as he felt Hat Kid comfort him.
The kid frowned as she continued to hug the ghost letting him let out everything that he’s been holding in for the past few days. Snatcher needed to let all this out, even if he didn’t want too he had too. Even though he let it all out back at that rift.
Time passed as Snatcher’s loud sobs turned into sniffles. He wiped the tears from his eyes, and Hat Kid slowly loosened her grip on the ghost. “H-Have you…” Hat Kid nervously spoke up. Snatcher turned to the kid, who sat down in her pillow pile not looking up at the ghost. She wanted to ask him something, but was scared to set him off. “Have you been having nightmares about...what happened?” She asked.
Snatcher blinked in surprise. How did the kid know? He was about to ask, but the kid continued to talk.
“I too had a bad dream a while ago.” Hat Kid revealed. Snatcher's eyes widened at the fact the kid was also suffering from nightmares. He was about to ask, but the kid continued. “I-It was back in the attic, and I saw what happened to me. I saw how sad you were, how angry you were with Moonjumper, but I couldn’t hear it. Only see it. Then just as you were about to kill Moonjumper you started yelling and crying. I wanted to comfort you, but I couldn’t feel you.” She explained calmly.
It surprised Snatcher how the kid who was usually fun loving, childish, and would always poke fun at him being calm yet serious about this. Heck, she wasn’t sobbing reliving that dream. Did she cry about it when she had it, and was all out of tears to cry? Or, was she tired she did have the strength to cry.
“I’m sorry you saw all that kiddo.” Snatcher apologized. “You didn’t, no never deserved that to happen to you.”
“I’m sorry you're the one who has to witness that over and over again.” Hat Kid replied, turning to the ghost. That saying could mean so many things, yet with what happened filled the ghost with even more guilt. “You're the one who witnessed everything, including my death.”
“It’s not your fault kiddo, it’s-“ he paused giving a sigh. He wanted to mention Moonjumper, but he couldn’t.
The room filled with silence, a kid and her ghostly bff sitting in a pile of pillows in silence. Snatcher glanced at the young girl, hesitating to put his arm around her. He hesitated at first, but only reached up to the child’s shoulder,
Hat Kid looked up at him and leaned into the hug. She snuggled close, burying her face into his fluffy fur. The ghost smiled and gave a sigh.
“Do you still want to kill him?” Hat Kid asked. Snatcher looked down at the kid. “Moonjumper do you still want him dead?” She asked.
Snatcher knew his answer, yes. He desperately wanted to kill Moonjumper, but he also remembered how the kid’s soul stopped him from doing so. Though, he gusses he should be asking Hat Kid a question about Moonjumper.
“What about you?” Snatcher asked. Hat Kid was confused. “Do you want him dead?”
“Can I be honest?” Hat Kid asked back. Snatcher nodded. “I don’t think he deserves to die.” She answered. “Sure, he took my Time Piece and lied to Vanessa to use it, and he did kill me, but that doesn’t mean he should die over it.” She explained. “Doing your contracts for eternity maybe, but does Moonjumper really need to be killed over it?”
Snatcher was speechless. The kid was full of surprises. She was a funny, annoying, yet playful child by day. By night she’s calm, mature and full of knowledge.
“I. I don’t know kiddo. I was just asking.” He explained. It made Snatcher remember back at the rift when Hat Kid’s soul was stopping him from finishing off Moonjumper. It was Hat’s final wish to him. Though he wondered why Moonjumper should be spared when she listed everything the corpse did that deserves to be killed.
However, as much as he wanted to ask more, the ghost started to get tired and he didn’t want to push Hat Kid with more questions. Maybe in the morning.
“L-let’s just get some sleep, okay?” Snatcher asked, hoping to change the subject. Hat Kid wasn’t quite sure, but she too was starting to get tired. The kid nodded and lied down on the pillow pile with Snatcher lying down right next to her. He wrapped his arm around the kid and brought her close to him.
“Thanks Snatcher.” Hat Kid sighed.
“Anytime kiddo.” Snatcher replied letting out a yawn. Hat Kid gave a light chuckle and soon she started to yawn as well.
“You're the best BFF ever.” She tiredly said before falling asleep.
“No, you are kiddo. You are.” Snatcher replied as he slowly fell asleep.
It was a snowy day and a big blanket of snow covered Subcon. Hat Kid was running around playing in the snow as a man, who was Snatcher as his old prince self, Alistel chased after her. Hat Kid hid behind a tree, snickered as the man tried to look for her.
“Where are you kid?” Alistel Snatcher asked in a teasing tone.
Hat Kid held her breath so she wouldn’t make a peep and he’d leave.
“GOTCHA!” Alistel shouted, making Hat Kid squeak. He grabbed the kid pulling her into a hug as the two shared a laugh. Hat Kid let go of the hug and ran off climbing up a high slope ready to slide down. Alistel followed after her as he grabbed the sled and put her in the front as he was behind her. “Ready?” He asked.
“Ready!” Hat Kid cheered.
Alistel gave a boost as he and Hat Kid went down the hill laughing and screaming as they went down, and slamming into a large snow pile. The two popped out of the pile laughing and covered in snow.
Snatcher groaned as he woke up from his sleep, and he felt...good. He didn’t have a nightmare this time, no dead kid, but him when he was a prince with an alive and well kid playing in the snow. It felt nice for once to have a peaceful dream.
Speaking of the kid he looked down to see she was still asleep snuggled up to him. Usually now would be the time he’d yell “Good morning!” To her, but she looked so peaceful as she slept. The ghost gave a smile and lied back down. “Rest well kiddo.” And he went back to sleep.
so uh- WHEEEEEEEEE Angst. This is just two different ways i want to portray mj and snatcher’s trauma and how they deal with it since they both share similar experience (though more so second hand from mj but they still understand) I feel like snatcher doesn’t like being touched or held compared most hc where he’s just a soft cuddly noodle and is v touched starved but i see it as the opposite. Being in an abusive relationship like the one he was in would make him more reserved and resent touch despite wanting that intimacy with others. But living for 300 years with you and your trauma tends to make you lash out and do things that are unsavory like stealing souls and contracts and watching a kid die multiple times for your own amusement. He’s already given up on the idea of love and doesn’t want to go through the effort of building it up if he’s only going to get hurt again, the sad thing was with him and Vanessa it wasnt all bad. He understood why she acts the way she does and was willing to go the extra mile and be with her at the cost of his own well being and he was unfortunately too blind to see which resulted in his downfall. He also often dissociates and when that happens he lets a lot of things in the forest go loose which is why he ask his minions to go clean up his mess. Now for Mj. MoonJumper is still kinda the “prince” but they know this trauma isnt theirs. So instead they do the opposite where they try to make things better right away, they try to cheer the person up and be positive and make the situation lighter instead of letting it linger. They’re trying their best to get people to open up to them and be happy that they dont realize it’s hurting them more whenever they do this so they try again only to be an ear or someone who’s just there for someone but with snatcher? That doesn’t work. And they Bottle up so much of their feelings and their anger because they feel like they cant at the moment. Not until everything is fixed and the damage they dealt is over in addition to that they’re also in denial that they’re upset or hurt going back to the prince’s original mentality. Mj tries their best to talk to Snatcher though he isn’t ready to open up to them just yet And Mj needs to wait for him to come to them willingly instead of going to him constantly while Snatcher needs to recognize Mj’s efforts to be purely for help and care than being something that will hurt him.
After a long and hearty 2 DAYS, I finally finished this piece of art! Meet Yel and BB, me and @blubird513’s hat-sonas (does that exist?) basically I turned me and blu into a hat in time characters!! This took a lot of communication and time (and a ton of kitchen nightmare episodes-) but I really like the outcome!! I hope me and blu use these little babies more in the future! We have so many plans >:)
